The use of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aerial systems (UASs) [hereinafter collectively referred to as “drones”] in the production of movies, televisions and other multimedia productions is becoming widespread. To some degree this increased usage has occurred due to the Federal Aviation Administration's recent decision to allow the operations of drone for the purpose of scripted, closed-set filming for the motion picture and television industry. It may be possible to apply for an exemption from the FAA's regulations to allow the use of drone in recording or live streaming of sporting events. Other countries may also require governmental approval of the use of drones.
Drones are commonly used to record video but are generally impractical to record audio due to the high noise levels generated by their propulsions systems (e.g., motors and propellers). The ability to record audio from a variety of drone platforms could provide improved flexibility for dialog recording or multichannel reconfigurable microphone arrays.
It is also contemplated that drones may at some point in the future be employed in various retail stores as well as the workplace such as warehouses and the factory floor. In such environments, the drones maybe required to have the capability of receiving voice commands to control the unmanned vehicles. For example, a voice command may be required as a safety feature (e.g., kill switch). The high noise levels generated by the drone's propulsions systems could likely drown out any voice command.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method, apparatus and computer systems to reduce (e.g., cancel) the noise emanating from a drone's propulsion system and captured by the onboard microphone set (e.g., one onboard microphone) during an audio recording, live streaming events or capture of other audio input(s).